COLUMN: Ruthless bankers make bad neighbors? Who would have thought
It turns out the wealthiest Americans haven't just shattered our economy, corrupted our democracy and saddled future generations with crippling debt — science has proved they're sh*tty people too.
In her excellent article, "How Wealth Reduces Compassion," published by Scientific American on April 10, Daisy Grewal compiles recent evidence that makes a strong case for wealth having a troublingly powerful effect on a person's degree of compassion for their fellow humans.
Grewal's piece comes on the back of research into class, empathy and selfishness by University of California, Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner.
In one study, Grewal reports, researchers asked subjects to take time comparing themselves either to people better off or worse off than themselves financially. Afterward, those participants were shown a jar of candy and told that they could take home as much as they wanted. They were then told the leftover candy would be given to children in a nearby lab. Those participants who had spent time thinking about how much better off they were compared to others ended up taking significantly more candy for themselves — leaving less behind for the children.
It gets worse from there. From rude driving to muted reactions to tear-jerking videos of children struggling with cancer, substantial evidence was found that suggests wealth makes people less aware of the importance of other people's problems. Despite what logic might suggest, the studies found that those of moderate or meager means are actually more empathetic the poorer they are. Those who struggle the most still remember the importance of a helping hand.
This is not some claim that capitalism should be immediately and permanently replaced by something distributive and equally dystopic. Instead, it's a evidence-based explanation of the disconnect between our legislators, both state and local, and the people they claim to represent.
It's yet another reason why the election of politicians purely on the basis of social issues like gay marriage, prayer in schools, Islamophobia and abortion has left us with a group of largely wealthy white men who don't seem to understand the issues of their constituents.
Mortgage reform? Health care reform? Student loan reform? In a country where the rich own multiple homes, have generous insurance and don't worry about the cost of education, it should be no surprise that the pain of everyone else, of the 99 percent, to borrow a phrase, is not only ignored but easily dismissed.
Empathy comes from shared experience, or at the very least, interaction. With the rise of gated communities and other forms of hypersegregation based on class, there's no need to acknowledge privilege. There's no need for you or your kids to be worried about the hungry children on the other side of the fence.
Reminds me of a classic joke: What's the different between a porcupine and a BMW?
Porcupines have pricks on the outside.
